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Taliban kill 10 climbers, including American, on mountain in Pakistan

By Sebastian Abbot and Zarar KhanThe Associated Press

Posted:
06/24/2013 12:01:00 AM MDT

Updated:
06/24/2013 12:10:51 AM MDT

Pakistani workers of the political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement hold placards during a protest Sunday in Karachi, Pakistan, to condemn the killing of foreign climbers. The climbers were at the base camp of one of the world's tallest mountains in northern Pakistan. (Fareed Khan, AP)

ISLAMABAD — Islamic militants disguised as police officers killed 10 foreign climbers, including an American, and a Pakistani guide in a brazen overnight raid against their campsite at the base of one of the world's tallest mountains in northern Pakistan, officials said Sunday.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack at the base camp of Nanga Parbat. The mountain is more than 26,250 feet tall and is notoriously difficult to summit. It is known as the "killer mountain" because of numerous deaths in the past.

The attack took place in an area that has largely been peaceful, hundreds of miles from the Taliban's major sanctuaries along the Afghan border.

The Taliban began the attack by abducting two local guides to take them to the remote base camp in Gilgit-Baltistan, said Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. One of the guides was killed in the shooting, and the other has been detained for questioning. The attackers disguised themselves by wearing uniforms used by the Gilgit Scouts, a paramilitary force that patrols the area, Khan said.

About 15 gunmen attacked the camp about 11 p.m. Saturday, said the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which spoke with a local guide, Sawal Faqir, who survived the shooting. They began by beating the mountaineers and taking away any mobile and satellite phones they could find, as well as everyone's money, said the club in a statement.

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Some climbers and guides were able to run away, but those that weren't were shot dead, said the club. Faqir was able to hide a satellite phone and eventually used it to notify authorities of the attack.

Attaur Rehman, the home secretary in Gilgit-Baltistan, said 10 foreigners and one Pakistani were killed in the attack. The dead foreigners included three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two Chinese, one Lithuanian, one Nepalese and one Chinese-American, according to Rehman and tour operators who were working with the climbers.

Matt Boland, the acting spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, confirmed that an American citizen was among the dead but could not say whether it was a dual Chinese national.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying its Jundul Hafsa faction carried out the shooting as retaliation for the death of the Taliban's deputy leader, Waliur Rehman, in a U.S. drone attack May 29.

"By killing foreigners, we wanted to give a message to the world to play their role in bringing an end to the drone attacks," Ahsan told The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.

The U.S. insists the CIA strikes primarily kill al-Qaeda and other militants who threaten the West as well as efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who wants to pursue peace talks with militants threatening his country, has insisted the U.S. stop the drone strikes. Sharif responded to the attack on the camp by vowing "such acts of cruelty and inhumanity would not be tolerated and every effort would be made to make Pakistan a safe place for tourists."